The present invention relates to an arrangement for preparing and positioning patients to be treated and/or cared for medically.
Arrangements of this kind are generally known. For example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,428 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,464 B1 or U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,383 B2 are known devices for preparing and positioning patients who are subjected to diagnostic examination by way of X-rays, computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET). These devices each consist of a patient bench which is directly assigned and, respectively, located next to or in front of the diagnostic appliance. Thereby, the patient bench is designed to be directly extendable to or into and, respectively, retractable from the diagnostic appliance. As an alternative, the patient bench may be designed to be extendable to or into and, respectively, retractable from a base aligned next to or in front of the diagnostic appliance, which however requires additional repositioning of the patient. The particular disadvantage of all these devices is the direct assignment and, respectively, allocation of the patient bench to or in the face of the diagnostic appliance. The patient bench and the diagnostic appliance are therefore set up in one and the same treatment room. Preparation and positioning of the patient to be treated and/or cared for medically and the actual medical treatment and/or care are therefore provided in immediate proximity of place and time. Preparation and positioning of a patient to be treated and/or cared for medically and the actual medical treatment and/or care of another patient can never be simultaneously and/or parallelly conducted. All these circumstances lead to extensive preparation phases, i.e., treatment intervals/downtimes and thus in general to high costs and time expenditures in medical treatment and/or care of the patient(s).
In addition, US 2009/0070936 A1, US 2012/0158017 A1, US 2012/0174317 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,760 A describe computer-based robot systems for positioning patients at a device for medical treatment and/or care of patients. All of these robot systems have a number of considerable disadvantages. Without exception, these robot systems all have a very complex structural design and, as a consequence, all require extensive maintenance and servicing. In addition, these robot systems, owing to their mobility and high degree of flexibility, are extremely heavy and must be handled and operated by highly-qualified and experienced personnel. Owing to mobility and high degree of flexibility, there are simultaneously considerable risks of collision with the device for medical treatment and/or care of the patient, which at the same time poses a considerable risk of injury to patients, operating personnel and physicians. However, the most significant disadvantage of these robot systems in practice has shown to be the fact that these robot systems, as a principal rule, are assigned to a single device for medical treatment and/or care of the patient, i.e., they are positioned directly in the treatment room. Preparation and positioning of the patient to be treated and/or cared for medically and the actual medical treatment and/or care are consequently carried out in close range and dependency of time. Therefore, preparation and positioning of a patient to be treated and/or cared for medically and the actual medical treatment and/or care of another patient can never be simultaneously carried out. All this leads to extremely high manufacturing, operation and maintenance and repair costs arising generally from these robot systems on one side and extremely long preparation and, as a consequence, treatment intervals to the patients' detriment on the other side.
Finally, combined patient positioning and transport systems are known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,386 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,884 A, U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,760 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,011 A and US 2004/0001571 A1 or DE 101 27 210 A1, which comprise a patient bench and a transport cart to transport the patient bench with the patient. These patient positioning and transport systems in practice have all proved oneselves to be severely disadvantageous. For example, automated or even partially automated transport from a preparation room to a treatment room or vice versa or to another treatment room is not possible. In addition, simple transport between preparation room and treatment room is also excluded. Transport carts, owing to their size and weight including the weight of the patient to be transported, are usually very difficult to handle. This is the more true if there are ramps, hallway corners or similar between preparation room and treatment room. Transport here requires more personnel, i.e., at least one additional person, which in return leads to additional need for investment of time and money for the actual transport process. Not at least resulting therefrom in the transport process the risk of collision in transport alleys between preparation room and treatment room is extremely high, even if two persons are assigned to handling the transport cart. In addition, the transport process cannot be conducted irrespective of floor conditions to be locally met and thus without any vibrations at all. Such collisions and/or vibrations in turn have considerable negative effects upon the prepared and positioned patient in such respect that the preparation conducted in the preparation room and exactly set and defined positioning of the patient are considerably impaired or even neutralized and consequently must be repeated in the treatment room after the transport process has been completed. Finally, these types of patient positioning and transport systems are also associated with considerable problems due to the required relocation or reposition of the patient from the patient bench to the table for medical treatment and/or care. Even such a relocation will also have considerable negative effects in such respect that the preparations conducted in the preparation room and exactly set and defined positioning of the patient are considerably impaired or even neutralized, such that a preparation and positioning of the patient must be repeated or at least be additionally verified in the treatment room.